Can't Find It Anywhere

For the next few days, Alicia thoroughly cleaned the castle from top to bottom. She enjoyed it, telling herself she was looking for clues.

Arthur also participated, and he was very sensible, which saved Alicia a lot of effort.

Ten-year-olds also adapt very well to magic. He quickly accepted the many magical aspects of the castle and even spent days playing with the door with great interest.

She wiped the windows, cleaned the leaking gutters, and even scrubbed the stairs, as well as the bathroom. To be honest, she had never seen such a dirty bathroom. The weeds in the shower stall filled her with dread, and the color of the bathtub startled her.

Whether it was paint or some kind of potion, the bathtub was dyed in all sorts of colors. The mirror was also covered in spots and stains, crisscrossing in every direction. Rather than a bathroom, it looked more like a workshop for some kind of evil human experimentation.

Just cleaning this place took her an entire day.

Some bottles and jars on the shelf caught her attention. They had labels with nouns like "skin," "eyes," and "hair," which were hard to ignore.

Alicia initially guessed they might have been made from a maiden's body, but upon closer inspection, she found that most of them were cosmetics like face creams.

She recalled her impressions of Shaya during their time together these past few days. To be honest, she found it hard to connect such a wide variety of cosmetics with him.

Or rather, every time she pictured him smearing this pile of things all over his face, she got goosebumps.

She put everything back in its place and then cleaned it.

She had also made many friends in Eagle's Horn Port during these days.

Alicia had never heard of this place when she was at the royal palace. It seemed like a very rural, unknown small town.

But the people here were truly warm and welcoming.

It was rare to see a ninety-year-old grandmother as energetic as she was in this era.

Adhering to the fine tradition of respecting the old and cherishing the young, some enthusiastic neighbors would always bring small gifts. When she went to the market to buy groceries, people here would also give her extra vegetables and offer discounts.

Alicia would always accept with a smile, but sometimes she would reciprocate with some small dishes she made herself, things that even Shaya had praised more than once.

She really liked some of the gifts that had a unique local charm, like the strung-together shells. She used these to decorate her little den under the stairs.

The room became cleaner and cleaner. The cakes and jams in the pantry were neatly arranged, and there were seasonal vegetables from time to time.

This magical castle was increasingly starting to feel like home.

If she were to leave here one day, she would probably cry, Alicia thought.

When she was at the royal palace, she didn't have a single friend she could truly talk to. Although the maids were always responsive to her requests, none of them ever treated her as a friend, only with respect.

After she lost her sight, she essentially had nothing to do. She just stayed in the royal palace, living day after day in a daze.

Although the royal palace was large and luxurious, its silent emptiness made her feel uneasy.

Even though this place was small, she slept very peacefully every night. She hadn't felt this way in a long time.

But she knew she couldn't stay here forever.

Alicia always felt that person knew her, but had always turned a blind eye to her.

What he was thinking, Alicia couldn't guess at all. This feeling was very uncomfortable.

Therefore, she saved Shaya's room for last to clean. She was a little afraid of finding something in there that might shatter her current life.

For example, fragments of a maiden's heart or the details of his contract with Cassifa.

But she quickly dismissed this concern. She was determined to break this curse; she had had enough of feeling like an old woman.

She got up early. A light rain was falling in Eagle's Horn Port. She tied her headscarf, rolled up her sleeves, put on her apron, and prepared her broom, bucket, and soap. She marched towards the stairs as if going into battle.

Shaya was on the balcony reading a book. That's what he had been doing these past few days. He was sitting in the rocking chair Alicia had bought a few days ago.

It was a new model from a local furniture store, inspired by a child's cradle, and it was very comfortable.

It was perfect for an elderly person to sit in and bask in the sun. She had spent a lot of money to buy it, planning to sit in it by the large lake where the castle was currently docked.

But she hadn't sat in it for long before Shaya snatched it away. His backside hadn't left that chair since. He spent his days lying on the balcony, basking in the sun and reading.

Every time she saw his lazy demeanor, she became quite annoyed.

He burdened Cassifa with all the powerful magic of the castle and dumped all the daily chores on herself and Arthur.

And he, meanwhile, had stolen the old lady's rocking chair and spent his days doing nothing but soaking up the sun.

She no longer had any reverence for this shameless fellow.

As if sensing he was being watched, Shaya closed his book and looked at the current Alicia with some amusement.

"Are you going to clean my room?"

"What? Are you afraid I'll find something I shouldn't in there?" Alicia said, hands on her hips.

"Not at all," Shaya said. "But when you clean, remember not to move anything. Those are magical devices to evade the Wilderness Witch."

Hearing the familiar name, Alicia's breathing hitched slightly. Although she had already guessed that the Wilderness Witch and Shaya knew each other from before, hearing it from his mouth felt different.

"Who is that?" she pressed.

"Trouble," Shaya commented. "Big trouble now, but in the future, probably just minor trouble."

"Could it be that she's a woman you wronged in the past?" Alicia said.

"Why do you think that?" Shaya asked with a strange expression.

"Intuition."

Shaya shook his head. "Do you believe it? I've never even met her."

"Then why is she looking for you?" Alicia asked. "And why are you hiding from her?"

Shaya seemed about to say something, but the sound of hurried footsteps from the stairs nearby caught their attention.

Arthur ran up, holding a newspaper, and said excitedly, "Alicia, Shaya, look at this newspaper! Emperor Moria has passed away!"

Thump!

The broom Alicia was holding fell to the ground. Clearly, the news Arthur brought had a huge impact on her, and she froze in place.

A moment later, she snapped back to reality, immediately snatched the newspaper from Arthur, and stared wide-eyed at the headline.

As she read the newspaper, she slowly walked down the stairs, leaving the bucket and broom behind.

Arthur, having also recovered, now noticed Alicia's strange mood. He hurried down the stairs and saw Alicia sitting by the window, head bowed, covering her face.

Her body was trembling slightly, and faint sobs could be heard.

The newspaper had fallen to the side.

Arthur felt helpless, unsure if he had done something wrong, and dared not go forward to comfort her.

He ran back up the stairs in a panic.

"Shaya! Alicia is crying! Go check on her!"

Shaya wasn't surprised by this. He quietly got up and placed the book in his hand on the rocking chair.

"Why is she crying?" Arthur asked anxiously. "Is it because of me?"

"It's not because of you," Shaya said.

"Then what is it?" Arthur pressed.

"Because of parting. She's lost a very important relative," Shaya looked at him. "Do you understand?"

Arthur was silent for a moment. "I understand. When Grandma Dean died, I cried a lot too."

He paused and then asked, "Is there anything we can do?"

"Help her clean her room," Shaya said.

Arthur came to his senses, looked at the bucket and broom on the ground, and nodded. "I understand."

Shaya said no more and walked down the stairs.

Alicia was still sitting by the workbench, sobbing, her body trembling uncontrollably.

He quietly walked to her side, picked up the newspaper from the ground, and read its contents with a sigh.

"I thought it would take more than ten days for this news to reach Eagle's Horn Port. I didn't expect it to be so fast."

Hearing this, Alicia looked up at Shaya, tears on her face. "You knew about this already?"

Suddenly, Alicia seemed to realize something. She snatched the newspaper from Shaya's hand and looked at the date of death on the obituary. It was the same time Shaya had gone out with the Grim Reaper.

"Did you take me and Emperor Moria?"

"It was death."

Shaya said seriously, "As long as one is human, one can never escape death. It is human destiny. The Grim Reaper does not bring death; rather, death brings the Grim Reaper. He is only responsible for guiding souls to where they should go."

Shaya looked at Alicia. "He guided many souls that day, and this Emperor was the last one."

Alicia lowered her head and fell silent. She knew her father's condition well and understood many truths.

But she had never imagined that the moment of his passing would come so suddenly, and she wouldn't even have a chance to see him one last time.

"I spoke with him for a while," Shaya said. "We got along very well. He gave me a box and entrusted me with delivering it to his third daughter, who had gone missing not long ago."

Alicia looked up at Shaya quietly, but said nothing.

Shaya sighed. "Unfortunately, I couldn't find out where his third daughter is."

"Even magic couldn't find her?" Alicia asked.

"Magic isn't omnipotent," Shaya said.

"Where is the box now?" Alicia asked.

Shaya raised his hand, and the exquisitely crafted box slowly appeared in his palm.

Alicia kept her gaze fixed on the box.

"You seem to care a lot about that Emperor," Shaya said, looking at her with interest.

Alicia withdrew her gaze, wiped away the remaining tears from the corners of her eyes, and tried to calm her emotions.

"I-I just think he was a good emperor. It's such a shame he died like this."

Shaya nodded, as if he believed Alicia.

"Since you value this Emperor so much, I'll entrust this to you for safekeeping until we find the Third Princess."

He placed the box on a table to the side.

"Leave it to me?" Alicia hadn't quite registered what he said for a moment.

"I don't have any space in my room," Shaya said casually. "Besides, I'm really not the type of person who can keep track of things. If I were to hold onto it, I might lose it someday."

"I can't deny that."

After cleaning for these past few days, Alicia had a very clear understanding of Shaya's ability to organize and store items.

"Then I'll leave it to you. I'm going to take a bath. Cassifa, prepare hot water for me."

Shaya said to Cassifa, then turned and walked up the stairs.

He hadn't taken a bath in many days. Now that the bathroom was clean, he wanted to soak properly.

"What a hassle, taking a bath so early in the morning," Cassifa grumbled. "Alicia, add a few more logs for me."

Alicia glanced at the box, then at the stairs Shaya had ascended. A faint glow flickered in her eyes, but she remained silent.

She silently got up, walked over, and added a few logs for Cassifa. Then, Cassifa began to huff and puff, heating the bathwater for Shaya.